How I Decided to Adopt Rich People’s Habits and How It Changed My Life

It’s not a secret that rich people have a lot of good habits and many people that these are the reasons that they’re so successful. But what if a person who doesn’t have millions of dollars in their bank account decides to adopt the habits of rich people and do as they do? What will such a person feel and how will their life change?

I decided to find the answers to these questions that’s why I adopted the habits of the richest people on this planet for 6 months.

Specially for Bright Side, I will share just how my life changed.

Habit #1: Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.

I don’t exercise a lot. Sometimes, I join a gym but then I forget about it and remember like once a month. This is completely useless so I needed some kind of a system and a reason to exercise more.

I decided that things should be different. I joined a gym once more but this time I made a plan of workouts for 4 times a week.

This is my calendar (the red circles are the workouts) and the workout program that I found for myself on the internet.

The hardest part was packing a bag and going to the gym after working all day. I really wanted to relax on the couch, rest, watch a movie, or just sleep. But if a day on the calendar is marked, you have to go to the gym no matter what.

I didn’t have to make myself do it for a long time. 10 days later, it was already a habit. The laziness and tiredness in the evenings disappeared somehow and my body was ready for physical activity. Because the toxins could leave my body faster, I started sleeping better and waking up easier. Besides, exercising was a good way for me to relax. I noticed that I’ve become more concentrated and calm.

Habit #2: Meet new people all the time.

It is said that communication is the currency of successful people. That’s why during the experiment, I tried to meet as many new people as I could.

At first, I made a list of all the people I knew and split them into 2 groups:

Useful people: The ones I feel comfortable with and I want to meet them as often as possible.

Toxic people: The ones who make me feel bad. I want to see them as rarely as possible.

To make new friends, I decided to visit different exhibitions and events which I am interested in. I was surprised to find out how many new and interesting people with similar hobbies you can meet just in one day. I can learn a lot from many of them. And maybe it will help me achieve something in the future.

Habit #3: Meditate every day.

Successful people pay attention not only to their bodies but also to their minds. So, in order to relax and get their heads straight, they meditate every day.

In order not to hear the outside noise, I turn on the sounds of nature in any free meditation app.

Meditation is a really good way to get your head straight and renew your energy (especially when you have a deadline). Before, I didn’t think it was so important.

Now, I was supposed to meditate every day. So, I decided to do it 20 minutes in the evening before sleep or I divided the time into 2 sessions — one in the morning and one in the evening.

I noticed the result during the second week of this schedule. The usual tension decreased, it was easier for me to think my tasks through during the day, and the answers to many questions were found easier than before.

Habit #4: Read many useful books.

I love books. I love the way they look and I love buying them. But I rarely have time to read them. This is why I have a lot of books I’ve never read.

Successful people read not for fun, but to get something useful. That’s why they mostly read biographies, history books, self-help books, and business literature. So, I chose such books from my “collection.”

The books I read during the first month and the second month.

I decided to carry one book with me all the time and read it on the way to work and back home or during lunch. Also, during my workouts and walks, I listened to audiobooks or podcasts.

So, during the first month, I read (and understood) almost 4 books. This was very useful.

Habit #5: Set goals and achieve them.

To see some order in the chaos of my home tasks, work, and life, I decided to make to-do lists and distribute the tasks across the entire week. For this, I use the applications todoist, wunderlist, or regular Post-it notes.

On the Post-its, I wrote the tasks I had to do that day or in the nearest future.

In the beginning, when I looked at my calendar and the huge to-do list, I thought I wouldn’t make it until the end of the experiment with such a schedule. However, it turned out to be much easier. Even though I didn’t achieve all the goals, I managed to do more things during the first week than I did during the entire previous month. And I didn’t feel exhausted.

Habit #6: Wear simple clothes.

Many successful people use what they call “Lego wardrobe.” This means that you just have some basic items of clothing that go together well. For example, Mark Zuckerberg has been buying the same clothes for years.

I decided to do the same. I threw away all the printed T-shirts, torn jeans, and other things I couldn’t always wear. I went to the store and bought a few identical T-shirts, sweaters, some pairs of jeans and I put them all in the wardrobe.

This is what my wardrobe looks like now.

This was one of the best decisions. I stopped wasting time thinking about what to wear every day. I stopped thinking whether my outfit was trendy or not. And I saved a lot of money because trendy clothes are often very expensive.

Habit #7: Be thrifty.

It is known that many rich and successful people don’t spend their money on useless things and they control their expenses. To follow their example, I decided to track my expenses.

I added all the things that I bought every day to the list so I could tell what I spent my money on. I realized that it was much cheaper to buy food for the entire week.

I had a different strategy for bigger purchases. Every time I wanted to buy something, I asked myself this question, “Will this thing be useful? Will it make me better?” And if the answer was “Yes”, then I put the thing on the list of future purchases. 2 weeks later, I returned to the list, and if I still wanted to buy the thing, I bought it. But often, it was just a short-term wish.

So, during the first month, I saved 40% of my salary, and during the second — almost 60%.

Habit #8: Wake up and go to bed early.

This was the hardest habit to adopt because I was used to staying up late to watch TV shows late and would reset the alarm a few times every morning.

This is my waking-up schedule and the bracelet.

In order to solve this problem, I decided to wake up at the same time every day and come to work an hour earlier. I solved the problem with a simple fitness tracker with an alarm clock. It counted my heart rate and if it realized that I was still sleeping after the alarm went off, it vibrated until I woke up.

It took around 3 days to get the schedule right (and it was really difficult). However, at the end of the first week, I noticed that I was able to do more before noon than I was previously able to do during the entire day. And there is also some charm to the fact that you are awake and feeling good while many others are still asleep.

Conclusion

All these habits really helped me become better, healthier, and smarter and they changed my life a lot. It wasn’t easy but now I read more, I get tired less, I have met new and interesting people and now I use my free time wiser.

From now on, I will not drop these habits and I will add new ones and I will tell you what happens the next time.

Do you already have some of these habits? Share your best habits with us in the comments below!